James Moriarty (Harris)
Professor James Moriarty was the arch-enemy of Sherlock Holmes. Whilst he appears to be a respectable mathematics professor, James Moriarty is in fact a criminal mastermind who is linked to a massive network of crime and deception. History Little is known about Moriarty's early life. It is known that he attended Cambridge University, where he excelled academically. While at school he also attracted some fame for his skill at boxing, which earned him the title "Boxing Champion of Cambridge". After graduation he was asked to teach at the school, and accepted a professorship in the department of mathematics. Moriarty published several popular works, including The Dynamics of an Asteroid and a treatise on the binomial theorem. Sherlock Holmes (2009 film) In 1890 Moriarty hired American adventuress and Holmes' former romantic interest, Irene Adler, to find and steal a remote-control device from Lord Blackwood. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows During the 1880s Moriarty began planning and executing a scheme to draw Europe into a continent-wide war. In 1889 he orchestrated the death of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in an apparent murder-suicide, and around the same time orchestrated a bombing in Vienna. This was followed in 1891 by a bombing in the city of Straßburg (Strasbourg), which was blamed on various nationalists or anarchists. These actions were intended to increase tensions on the continent, primarily between France and Germany. At the same time, through a combination of blackmail and murder he managed to acquire ownership of a number of different companies connected to wartime industry, such as steel and cotton. Sherlock Holmes had been following his actions intently, trying to understand what his plot was. After trailing Irene Adler to Cromwell & Griff's auction-house, where he intercepted her delivering a package from Moriarty to Dr. Karl Hoffmanstahl, he in short succession found himself having to stopping a bomb plot, witnessing Hoffmanstahl's subsequent murder by Sebastian Moran. After meeting with Simza Heron, whose brother René was another of Moriarty's associates, he had another clue of Moriarty's movements. With Dr. Watson recently having married Mary Morstan, Holmes intended to continue his investigation alone. He met Moriarty at Cambridge, where he expressed his desire for the criminal to leave Watson and jis wife alone as he was no longer part of his investigation. Moriarty, however, refused, saying that if Holmes wanted to fight him there would be collateral damage; to emphasize his point, he gave Holmes a blood-soaked handkerchief belonging to Adler, whom he reveals is dead, due to a poison that mimicked the symptoms of tuberculosis. Moriarty demonstrated his criminal mastery in his assassination of Alfred Meinhard and bombing of the Hôtel du Triomphe. The assassination was done by Moran under the cover of a bomb built by anarchist Claude Ravache. This not only gave him ownership of Meinhard's weapons empire but also further escalated tensions between the Germans and the French, who viewed it as a nationalist retaliation for Straßburg. He then proceeded to assassinate the ambassadors of several brawling nations in order to trigger the Industrially-scaled war he had been planning. He visited Karl Hoffmanstahl's, now his, ammunition factory, accompanied by Sebastian Moran. He was infiltrated by Simza, Holmes and Watson, along with a handful of gypsy thugs. Moran apprehended Holmes, where they exchanged insults over who had the best weapon. Moriarty interrogated him, resorting to stabbing a hook into the detective's shoulder and then suspending him at an altitude, whilst playing Schubert's Die Forelle. Holmes escaped, with the gypsies and Watson. Moran alerted the soldeirs in the factory and then sent a force of men into the forest after them, whilst covered by the artillery fire from the factory. An epic chase/gunfight broke out but, despite several casualties, the trio and a few companions escaped. His plans unscathed, Moriarty proceeded to the embassy in Switzerland. He placed Rene Heron, Simza's brother, to assassinate one of the ambassadors and thus start a war. Mycroft, Simza and Watson look and find Rene, who was shadowed by Sebastian Moran. Subdued and arrested by Watson, Rene was dragged, screaming his plan failed. Before he could reveal his superiors' identity, Moran callously shot him. Meanwhile, Holmes confronted Moriarty on the terrace outside. They began with a chess match, which Holmes narrowly won, and, after Moriarty calmly threatened to creatively murder Watson and his wife, they engaged in their mind a brutal fistfight. Because of Holmes' injured shoulder, it seemed that Moriarty would easily win. Cunningly, Holmes blinded, grappled and, in front of the newly arrived Watson, threw himself over the Reichenbach Falls. Moriarty likely crushed or drowned in the fall. Personality Moriarty was a sadistically intelligent, self-controlled and highly cunning and callous individual. He was a very big admirer of the opera and had a taste for Schubert's works. He was a brilliant tactician and a deadly strategist, very nearly outsmarting Sherlock Holmes. His demise was partially due to a single ounce of carelessness. Moriarty was highly elusive and incredibly manipulative. He had something of an analytic and psychopathic attitude towards others and was able to predict other people's actions with just a single glance. He was well-connected and highly respected among political terms in nations stretching further than Europe itself. This is mainly to prevent others from tampering with his affairs since he was connected with the Prime Minister. He was seen to be a psychopathic, misanthropic individual, who was extremely self-centered and with an outstanding mental agility and incredible level of cunning and intellect. He was also a sociopath, and almost ruthlessly utilized other people's lives in his intensely villainous schemes. He was cruel and heartless, and almost seamlessly murdered Irene Adler, showing just how callous he is. He was narcissistic and had a weakness for reading people excessively. However, he was a strong believer in the future, as he confidently dictates to Sherlock Holmes that, despite Holmes' actions an industrially-scaled war is inevitable and the world would do it themselves soon enough and all he had to do was wait. Ironically, this quotation refers to World War One which breaks out 23 years later. He was callous enough to threaten John Watson and his wife when his plan was foiled and showed a rather Machiavellian personality in public. He had no qualms about how he killed people as he promised to 'creatively' kill Watson and his wife, showing unimaginable sadism in his personality. He was also highly arrogant, considering Sherlock to be his finest opponent but still callously dismissing him as incompetent and mentally irrelevant. Abilities and Skills Despite his frail appearance, he was an incredibly skilful fighter, and noted to be a Cambridge boxing champion, a feat which he subsides modestly. In the final duel with Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty had an unfair advantage due to Sherlock Holmes' injured shoulder. Nevertheless, he displayed extreme prowess and incredible proficiency in unarmed combat, also shown to be evasive and highly unpredictable. His style emphasized mainly in strong boxing punches, blocks as well as pressuring an opponent whilst exploiting his or her weakness. He was capable, in his old age, of basic grapple moves, but focused on strikes and deflects. He was an avid player of chess and was capable to hold his own and nearly defeat Sherlock Holmes in their match at the Reichenbach Falls. His intelligence was remarkably high, enabling him to outsmart even the strongest of opponents in a battle of wits. es:James Moriarty (Harris) de:James Moriarty (Robert-Downey-Jr.-Reihe) Category:British characters Category:Characters: Guy Ritchie films Category:Villains Category:Versions of James Moriarty